By Tim Powers

Upon the recent passing of my father and the convergence of his seven sons into one place for his funeral, we were able to reflect on the times when life was so much easier. As we were all taught to work hard and be respectful to others, it hit me that even these two simple principles have disappeared in American society.

We were raised in a time when my father could actually support a family of nine on one paycheck; my mom did not have to work (and could stay home and raise us children); and welfare (which we never needed) was comprised of a book of food stamps, a large jar of peanut butter, and a block of government-provided cheese.

These were times when all of the children in the neighborhood bounced from house to house, played baseball, basketball, football, rode bicycles, and built forts in the woods. Everything was great…as long as we all came running home for dinner when my mom rang the dinner bell (yes, we had one.)

My older brothers would watch the demonstrations of the late sixties and early seventies on the evening news on a tube TV with rabbit ears and mock the hippies and beatnicks for what they were doing. These indeed were simpler times when wrong was still wrong and misdeeds in our family were still addressed with a good old-fashioned spanking.

Unfortunately, now that society has “progressed”, the hippies and beatnicks are now running things in this country, welfare is at an all time high and seen as a way of life, children seldom even play outside as video games (and cell phones have taken them over), social skills are all but dead, it now takes both parents working in order to support just themselves, and the groups being mocked now are the tea party and Constitution-loving Patriots who simply want to preserve the times when America was a moral and mighty nation. My father was blessed to live in such a time, and it is my sincere hope that I can be instrumental in restoring the simpler time that he enjoyed while he was on this earth. John J. Powers Jr., may God rest your soul; and I, your son, will make you proud! As always, stay safe and be aware of your surroundings.

…read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Western Journalism